Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing
In early 2011, the senior executives of the venerable Canadian hockey stick manufacturer, Sher-Wood Hockey (Sher-Wood), were pondering whether to move the remainder of the company's high-end composite hockey and goalie stick production to its suppliers in China. Sher-Wood had been losing market share as retail prices continued to fall. Would outsourcing the production of the iconic, Canadian-made hockey sticks to China help Sher-Wood to boost demand significantly? Was there any other choice?
Authors :: Paul W. Beamish, Megan (Min) Zhang
Topics :: Global Business
Tags :: International business, Operations management, Research & development, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing" written by Paul W. Beamish, Megan (Min) Zhang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sher Hockey facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Operations management, Research & development, Strategy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sher Hockey, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sher Hockey operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sher Hockey
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sher Hockey
Strengths Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sher Hockey in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Sher Hockey is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Sher Hockey is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Sher Hockey in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sher Hockey is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Sher Hockey is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Paul W. Beamish, Megan (Min) Zhang can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Learning organization
- Sher Hockey is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Sher Hockey is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Sher Hockey is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sher Hockey are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Sher Hockey
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sher Hockey does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sher Hockey digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sher Hockey has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sher Hockey in the sector have low bargaining power. Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sher Hockey to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sher Hockey to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sher Hockey to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing are -
Need for greater diversity
– Sher Hockey has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, it seems that the employees of Sher Hockey don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Sher Hockey supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sher Hockey vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sher Hockey has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, in the dynamic environment Sher Hockey has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sher Hockey has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sher Hockey has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sher Hockey 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sher Hockey has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sher Hockey products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sher Hockey needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sher Hockey has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing are -
Buying journey improvements
– Sher Hockey can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sher Hockey to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sher Hockey to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sher Hockey to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Sher Hockey can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sher Hockey can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sher Hockey can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sher Hockey to increase its market reach. Sher Hockey will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sher Hockey can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Sher Hockey can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sher Hockey can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Global Business segment.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sher Hockey can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sher Hockey can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sher Hockey can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing are -
Environmental challenges
– Sher Hockey needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Sher Hockey can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Increasing wage structure of Sher Hockey
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Sher Hockey.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Sher Hockey will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Sher Hockey business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sher Hockey is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing, Sher Hockey may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sher Hockey has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sher Hockey needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sher Hockey in the Global Business industry. The Global Business industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sher Hockey high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sher Hockey can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sher Hockey can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sher Hockey in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Sher Hockey needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.